MLB Trade Rumors » Dodgers Links: Crawford, Kemp, Payroll2015-03-31T20:19:32Zhttp://www.mlbtraderumors.com/feed/atomSteve Adamshttp://www.mlbtraderumors.com/?p=384172014-05-28T14:07:10Z2014-05-28T14:07:10ZContinue reading →]]>The carousel of playing time in the Dodgers’ outfield may settle for the time being, as Carl Crawford is headed to the disabled list after rolling his ankle in last night’s win over the Reds. As MLB.com’s Earl Bloom wrote, manager Don Mattingly said the injury “didn’t look good,” though x-rays on Crawford’s ankle did at least come back negative. Here’s more on the team that trails the Giants by 4.5 games in the NL West…

Prior to last night’s Crawford injury, Bloom wrote that Matt Kemp would begin to see some time in left field, despite not having played there since he was a rookie in 2006. The Dodgers feel that Kemp, he of an eight-year, $160MM contract, is currently better suited for left, as he’s lost a step in breaking on fly balls and doesn’t run as strong of routes as Andre Ethier. Crawford’s injury, of course, simplifies the division of playing time for now, but conventional wisdom suggests that at some point, something has to give with the Dodgers’ four high-priced outfielders.

General manager Ned Colletti and president Stan Kasten spoke with Howard Bryant of ESPN about the club’s payroll. Colletti told Bryant that the Dodgers admittedly don’t plan to spend at their current $229MM level forever, but they felt the need to turn things around “overnight” and make up for a four-year span of disappointment as they fought irrelevancy. Kasten told Bryant, “I always say that smart beats rich. But it’s better to be smart and rich.” He went on to say that his club is trying to find a balance of the financial power we’ve seen from the Red Sox and Yankees over the past 15 years and combine it the intelligence consistently shown by the Athletics and Rays.